Monday, 11 December 2017

And so we come to the final Margate post, which covers a walk along the coast from Margate to Broadstairs. Once again there is a mixture of different vistas, ranging from the sunny view from the Turner Gallery, through some of the run down seaside attractions, ending up with a sunset and some doorway mosaics in Broadstairs.

After a wonderful breakfast at The Curious Cupcake, we headed to the Turner Gallery for an hour. My wife is the arty one in the family, but as it was free I found it ok, and quite nice to get out of the bracing wind.

Margate bay from the Turner Gallery

For those of you with eagle-eyes, you can just make out the big wheel at Dreamland in the background.

Margate bay from the end of the harbour arm

Unsure of our plans after the gallery, but in the need to walk off the breakfast, we started a drift along the coast, not really having a destination in mind. As we headed east from the gallery the area became more run down. We walked through the boarded-up lido area, which I covered in a previous post and continued along the coast. I couldn't decide what this derelict building was. Perhaps either a bus shelter or simply somewhere to sit and take in the sea view.

Derelict shelter, Margate, Kent

Not far from the shelter was Club Caprice. Although it's now boarded up, it does seems to have had a bit of a hey day from what I've managed to find on the internet, and a sad day when it closed for some I suspect.

Boarded-up building, Margate, Kent

Unfortunately many of the ghost signs facing the actual sea front have been battered by the weather and some are almost all gone. This one is a bit more legible that the one further below. The words I can decipher say

???

REMOULDED

24 ETHELBERT Rd

ANTIQUE

FURNITURE

BRIC A BRAC

CURIOS ETC

Ghost sign, Ethelbert Road, Margate, Kent

This next ghost sign however, whilst once I suspect looking quite magnificent as it covered the entire side of the building, is completely unreadable.

Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

The Little Oasis Crazy Golf course at Cliftonville, Margate, has seen better days.

Abandoned crazy golf course, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

Again another abandoned building where I cannot determine the purpose. Possibly a shelter of some sort?

Derelict building, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

Derelict building, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent

This lift takes people between the esplanade and the beach. I'm not sure if it's still in use, or maybe perhaps it's just closed for the off season.

Lift from the esplanade to the beach, Margate, Kent

Lift from the esplanade to the beach, Margate, Kent

Once we'd left the built up area of Margate, much of the walk was a bit barren if I'm honest, and it was blowing a gale so I didn't stop to take many pictures. By the time we'd arrived in Broadstairs however, the sun was out again and just in time to treat us to a wonderful sunset.

Sunset over Broadstairs, Kent

Sunset over Broadstairs, Kent

Unfortunately this meant that by the time we'd arrived in the town it was getting dark. I did manage to take a couple of doorway mosaic photos, but will have to return another day to do a proper visit of the town.

Doorway mosaic, Broadstairs, Kent

Doorway mosaic, Broadstairs, Kent

Well, that concludes the Margate section of the Kent wander. Previous instalments are available starting at a weekend wandering around Kent (part 2, Margate). I still have some photos from Whitstable and Canterbury to share, which hopefully I'll get around to doing later this week.

Friday, 8 December 2017

Hello everyone, thanks for returning. Today I'm back with the next instalment of my weekend wandering around Kent. I'm still working through the many pictures I have of Margate, so once again this post will cover Margate, specifically the area in and around the railway station. These pictures were taken on two different days as we made our way from Margate station to venture out to Whitstable on the sunny day, and Canterbury on the dreary day. Blog posts on those two day trips will follow.

First up we have a couple of wonderful ghost signs just outside the station car park. Both are for

ALBERT GARAGEDOMINION MOTOR SPIRITS

with the one in the shade being in better condition as until relatively recently it would seem to have been protected from the weather as it was covered by a more modern advertising board.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

The Shell sign on the front of the building was only partially complete. I now wished I had ventured up the alley to take a closer look and perhaps a clearer photo of it, but was worried about missing the train.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

In compiling this latest blog post I now realise that I don't actually have any photos of the front of the station, which is a shame as it's quite a grand, grade II listed building. However what I do have are some pictures showing other aspects of the station's architecture.

The first couple of pictures show the former water tower at the east end of the station.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

The square looking building to the left of the picture is the main entrance to the station, and once again apologies for not having any pictures of the front or the interior to share.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

Platform Canopy, Margate Station, Kent

The Big Wheel at Dreamland from Margate Station, Kent

And so on to the second visit to the station, marred only by the dismal weather. When I first spotted this ghost sign I had not realised that the Albert Garage was in fact still an active operation just around the corner.

Albert Garage Ghost sign, Margate Station, Kent

During the previous day's trip out of Margate on the train, I noticed some abandoned looking platforms to the side of the station. With a bit more time to spare before the train left I ventured beyond the confines of the station to see what these were. A bit of internet research revealed these to be a former parcels depot and sidings, of which some parts were more derelict than others.

Monday, 4 December 2017

As hinted at in my previous post, a Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 2, Margate), I had far too much material for a single blog post, so here's the 2nd instalment of the Margate section of my recent visit to Kent. Again this post covers all sorts of aspects of Margate, from abandonment to dreamland.

The pictures in today's blog post were all taken as we walked to Margate station, which will have it's own blog post later, on a day trip to Whitstable, which will also have its own blog post.

First up we have what seemed to be half a street of abandoned and boarded up buildings, I think along Bath Road. The one on the left looks as though it may have been a factory or warehouse of some description, whereas the one on the right looks like it may have been a shop. Hopefully the attractive brick buildings on the left will be restored and escape the bulldozer.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

The boarded up buildings continued for quite a way.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

This one was a little more curious. It may have been a shop but also reminded me, in a strange way, of electricity substations I have seen in London.

Boarded up buildings, Margate, Kent

As we left the abandonment behind us, we headed towards the station via the sea front, taking in Dreamland. Originally opened in 1880 but not using the Dreamland name until 1920. It's had a somewhat chequered history but I'm pleased to say that it now seems to be enjoying a new lease of life, with some attractions open even in the off-peak season. It's rise and fall and rise again is well documented in various publications, like Dreamland Revived: The Story of Margate's Famous Amusement Park.

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Roller Disco, Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

Dreamland, Margate, Kent

And finally for the 2nd Margate instalment, a quick doorway mosaic to finish off.

Doorway mosaic, Margate, Kent

I've now realised that the Margate post within the Kent post is likely to run to 4, if not 5 posts. My next Margate post will look at Margate station and the area around it, taken on two days, one beautifully sunny, the other unfortunately a bit grim. So stay tuned for more folks.

Friday, 1 December 2017

Hot(ish) on the heals of part one of my Weekend Wandering in Kent blog post, is part two. Whereas part one covered Deal and Sandwich, albeit in small measures, part two covers Margate which was our base for the weekend. I ended up taking several pictures each day, sometimes as we were navigating our way out of Margate to visit other places, sometimes as we explored Margate. I definitely have too many pictures for a single Margate post so will split this into at least two parts.

Before I begin however, I have a bit of conundrum in terms of how I present Margate. Each day showed us different aspects to it. If I base my post simply on my experiences of the first day, then it would have been a rather sorry tale of a run down seaside resort, whereas if I include only what I saw on other days it would paint a much rosier picture. Therefore, I will share all my experiences, covering all aspects of the visit, so you will see me flipping between subject matter and different days, but hopefully still maintaining some cohesion. Still with me? Then let's begin ...
Unfortunately by the time we arrived in Margate it was quite a dreary day. After checking in, we wrapped up warm and headed down to the seafront. If I'm honest, our first impression was a bit of a sorry one, and we were wondering if we should have based ourselves elsewhere for the weekend. The weather definitely did not help as we navigated our way through litter strewn streets and dog's mess.

As regular readers will know, I'm a bit of a sucker for ghost signs, and this building fitted the bill perfectly, still sporting most of the lettering from its previous use as a depository.

F.L.Pettman Ltd., Depository, Margate, Kent

You only need to do a quick internet search to see what the Margate Lido looked like in its heyday. Sadly today it's less than a shadow of its past.

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

As promised, this post will move around in content quite a bit, so from the run down lido we now move on to something a bit more uplifting ... ghost signs and doorway mosaics in the old town ... and some sunshine.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

Not sure whether the ornate, blue section of the mosaic below is a more recent addition, or whether it was part of the original. I assume the clear section in the middle is there to allow some light into the basement below.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

And above the this mosaic, a wonderfully preserved sign showing the shop's former use.

Ladies & Gentlemen's Tailor

and Breeches Maker.

H.B.SMITH

Old shop sign, Kind Street, old town, Margate

I was not sure whether to include this as a ghost sign as it seems to have been very recently renovated, however it tells a story and on closer inspection above the brightly painted signage is a sign for

STUPPELL Hair Cutter

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

A closer inspection of the signs reveals the hairdresser's sign in its full glory.

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

Old town, Margate

Another beautifully preserved shop sign, this time for

Clothier

T.W.STIGANT

Hosier

Old shop sign, King Street, old town, Margate

The final picture from part 1 or my Margate post is of street art in the old town.

Street art, Margate

I have plenty more pictures to share from Margate, and also other places we visited over the weekend, so stay tuned folks for further instalments.

And if you missed my earlier post in this series, here's the link to the one I wrote about Deal and Sandwich.

About Me

Having grown up in one of the London suburbs, I'm interested in John Betjeman, J.G.Ballard, London suburbs, Avengerland (Borehamwood area where the classic 1960's and 1970's TV shows were filmed). More recently I have become interested in Psychogeography and Urban, Suburban and Coastal Wandering, which is where most of the subject matter in this blog now comes from.

I'm also an avid music listener and collector since the late 1970's. I like all sorts of genres ... punk, post-punk, new wave, industrial, ambient, krautrock, alternative, indie, goth ... naturally I have quite a few items I no longer need in physical format, so here's a link to my records and CDs for sale

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